Coin dispensers



March so, 1965 Filed May 25, 1962 R. c SIMMERMAN ETAL COIN DISPENSERS 5Sheets-Sheet 1 lNVENTOR S RICHARD C.SIMMERMAN MELVIN T. ROUDEBUSH THEIRATTORNEYS March 30, 1965 R. c. SIMMERMAN ETAL 3,175,553

COIN DISPENSERS Filed May 25, 1962 5 Sheets-Sheet 2 us Y.

95 mvem'ons RICHARD c. SIMMERMAN MELVIN T. ROUDEBUSH THEIR ATTORNEYSMarch 30, 1965 Filed May 23, 1962 R. C. SIMMERMAN ETAL COIN DISPENSERS 5Sheets-Sheet 3 INVENTORS RICHARD G.SIMMERMAN MELVIN IZROUDEBUSH M MA MTHEIR ATTORNEYS March 30, 1965 Filed May 23, 1962 R. C. SIMMERMAN ETALCOIN DISPENSERS 5 Sheets-Sheet 4 INVENTOR S RICHARD G. SIMMERMAN MELVINT. ROUDEBUSH THEIR ATTORNEYS March 30, 1965 R. c. SIMMERMANQ ETAL3,175,563

COIN DISPENSERS Filed May 23, 1962 5 Sheets-Sheet 5 FIG-.8

. HI! I l III I FIG.9

mveufoas RICHARD c. smmsnmm MELVIN T. ROUDEIBUSH THElR ATTORNEYS UnitedStates Patent 3,175,563 COIN DISPENSERS Richard C. Simmerman and MelvinT. Roudebush, Dayton, Ohio, assignors to The National Cash RegisterCompany, Dayton, Ohio, a corporation of Maryland Filed May 23, 1962,Ser. No. 197,038 3 Claims. (Cl. 133-1) This invention relates tocoin-dispensing mechanisms and more particularly relates to a coindelivery mechanism for delivering coins to an elevated position. Priorcoin delivery mechanisms were composed essentially of a chute alongwhich the coins traveled by means of gravity. This necessitated thepositioning of the coindispensing mechanism at a point above the area inwhich the coins were required to be delivered. With the development ofmodern checkout counters, the coin-dispensing mechanisms are beingremoved from a position on top of the counter to a position within thecounter itself, thereby allowing more room on top of the counter for thecheckout operations of the customers merchandise.

This positioning of the coin-dispensing mechanism within the checkoutcounter necessitates the delivery of the coins from the coin-dispensingmechanism to a point on the checkout counter above the dispensingmechanism. It is therefore an object of this invention to provide a coindelivery mechanism which transports and delivers coins from a lower,receiving, position to a higher, delivery, position.

Another object of the invention is to provide a coin delivery mechanismwhich is portable and is capable of receiving coins on either of itssides from a coindispensing mechanism.

A further object of this invention is to provide a coin deliverymechanism which contains a coin receptacle to which the coins aredelivered and which is easily accessible to the customer.

Another object of this invention is to provide adjustable blocking meansfor each coin slot, thereby preventing coins from rolling out of theopposite side coin slot.

With these and incidental objects in view, the invention consists ofcertain novel features of construction and a combination of parts, theessential elements of which are set forth in the appended claims, and apreferred form or embodiment of which is hereinafter described withreference to the drawings which accompany and form a part of thisspecification.

Of said drawings:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of the coin delivery mechanism, showing thecoin receptacle.

FIG. 2 is a rear view of the coin delivery mechanism with the back coverremoved.

FIG. 3 is a left sectional view taken on the line 3-3 of FIG. 2, showingthe motor drive arrangement for the transport belts.

FIG. 4 is a left sectional view taken along the line 44 of FIG. 2,showing details of the transport belts.

FIG. 5 is a sectional view taken along the line 55 of FIG. 4, showingone type of biasing arrangement for the transport guide rollers.

FIG. 6 is a detailed view of the transport belts, showing thetransporting of the coins by the belts.

FIG. 7 is a top view of the coin delivery mechanism with the illuminatedindicator and cover removed.

FIG. 8 is a top sectional view of the coin delivery mechanism takenalong the line 8-8 of FIG. 4.

FIG. 9 is a sectional detailed view of the belt drive mechanism takenalong the line 9-9 of FIG. 3.

FIG. 10 is a detailed view of the tensioning spring for one of thetransport belts guide rollers.

Referring now to the drawings, there is shown in FIG. -1 the coindelivery mechanism, generally indicated as 60. The unit is enclosed by afront panel 61, a left side plate 62, a right side plate 59, and a rearpanel 63. Mounted on top of the unit is a coin receptacle 64, into whichthe coins constituting the change are delivered. As will be explainedmore fully hereinafter, the depositing of the change in the receptacle64 results in the lighting of an illuminated indicator 65, therebydirecting the customers attention to the coin receptacle. As shown, acover 66, mounted on top of the mechanism, encloses the illuminatedindicator 65.

Each of the side plates 59, 62 contains a slot 67 (FIGS. 1, 4, 6, and8), through which the coins are delivered from a coin dispenser to thecoin delivery mechanism, to be transported to the coin receptacle 64.Also located in the left side plate 62 only is a T-shaped slot 68.

As will be explained more fully hereinafter, the slot 68 allows for theadjustment of either of two blocking members located adjacent the coinslots 67, so that coins delivered to either of the slots 67 in the leftand right side plates will not roll through the opposite slot in theother side plate.

Referring now to FIGS. 2, 3, 4, and 8, there are shown views of the maincomponents that constitute the coin delivery mechanism. Mounted by meansof three studs 69, supported between the left and right side plates, isa support plate 70 (FIGS. 2 and 3), which plate, together with the rightside plate 59, supports a belt transport mechanism and its associatedmotor drive. As may be seen more clearly from FIGS. 2 and 8, the supportplate 70 divides the coin delivery mechanism into two compartments, withone compartment containing the belt transport mechanism, while the othercontains the motor and its drive mechanism. As may be seen from FIG. 4,the belt transport mechanism consists of two belt systems and theirassociated guide rollers. The first system comprises a belt 71, which isguided along a predetermined path by means of a drive roller 72 and theguide rollers 123 and 73 to 84 inclusive. The second belt system, alsodriven by the drive roller 72, comprises the belt 85 and the guiderollers 86 to 89 inclusive. The belt 85 also utilizes the guide rollers123 and 73 to 82 inclusive in common with the belt 71.

The guide roller 88, engaging the belt 85, is rotatably mounted on ayoke member 90 (FIGS. 4 and 10), which in turn is rotatably mounted on astud 91, secured between the right side plate 59 and the support plate70. The stud 91 also rotatably supports the guide roller 89. A rearportion of the yoke 90 constitutes a flange 92, to which are secured theends of a spring 93, which is wrapped around a stud 69 located on theright side plate 59. Action of the spring 93 tends to rock the yoke 90and the guide roller 88 counter-clockwise, thereby tensioning the belt85. This tensioning of the belt is also applied to the belt 71 by meansof the two lower guide rollers 83 and 84. Each of these guide rollers ismounted on a stud 94 (FIGS. 3, 4 and 5), slidably mounted and supportedin horizontal slots 95, located in the right side plate 59 and thesupport plate 70. A yoke member 96, also mounted on the stud 94, isbiased in a horizontal direction by a spring 97, attached between theyoke 96 and a stud 98, mounted on the right side plate 59. It will beseen from this arrangement that each guide roller 83 and 84 is urged ina direction opposite to each other by their respective springs 97,resulting in the tensioning of the belt 71.

Each of the guide rollers 123, 76, 78, and 80 is rotatably mounted on aslide 99 (FIG. 4), which in turn is mounted and positioned on the rightside plate 59 by two screws 160. Together with the guide rollers 75,

77, 79, 80, and 81, which are rotatably mounted on studs supportedbetween theright side plate 59 and the support plate 70, the guiderollers 12.3, 76, 78, and 80 are so positioned as to provide'a constanttensioning force on the belts 71 and 85 as they move between the guideroller 74 and theguide roller 82 as shown in FIG. 4. The action of theseguide rollers prevents the coins positioned between the belts 71 and 85from slipping and remaining in one position. It is obvious that theamount of tension required is dependent on the angle of elevation of thebelt transport. The remainder of the guide rollers, with the exceptionof the aforementioned guide rollers 123, 76-, 78, and 80, are rotatablymounted in a conventional manner on studs supported between the rightside plate '59 and the support plate 70 (FIG. 8). V s

The operation of thecoin delivery mechanism willnow be described inrelation to FIGS. 4 and 6. As previously described, in each of the rightand left side plates of the delivery mechanism is a slot 67, throughwhich coins may be delivered from a coin-dispensing mechanism. As shownin FIG. 6, the coins drop through the slot 67 into a V-shaped' pocket,generally indicated as 120, formed by the belts 71 and 85. a As thebelts continue along their guide path, they come together, engaging thecoins and transporting them around the guide roller 74, past the guiderollers 123 and 75 to 81 inclusive, and around the guide roller 82. Atapproximately onehalf the length of travel about the guide roller 82,the belts 71 and 85 diverge, allowing the trapped coins to be depositedin a chute 101 (FIGS. 4 and 7), whereby the coins are delivered to thecoin receptacle 64. The belt 85 continues past the guide rollers v87,88, and 89 to the drive roller 72, where it converges with the belt 71,

which has traveled around the guide rollers 82, 83, and 84 to the driveroller 72. After leaving the drive roller 72, the belts engage the guideroller 73, after which they diverge, the belt 85 engaging the guideroller 86, thereby providing the pocket into which the coins, to be.transported to the coin receptacle 64, are delivered. It is seen thatthis continuous operation of the belts Hand 85 by the drive roller 72allows for any number of coins to be quickly nad continuously deliveredto the coin receptacle. V c

The drive roller 72, which drives the belts 71 and 85, is rotatablymounted on ball bearings 128 (FIG. 9), as are the other guide rollersexcept the guide rollers 123 and 75 to 81 inclusive. The ball bearingsare mounted in a conventional manner on a stud 125, supported by theright side plate 59. The drive roller 72 is coupled to a shaft 102 bymeans of a pin 121 (FIGS. 4 and 9), positioned within a slot 122,located in the hub of the drive roller 72. The shaft 102 is rotatablysupported by a stud 126 (FIG. 9), mounted on a guide plate 103 (FIGS. 3,7, and 9), which in turn is mounted to the support plate 70 by studs127. The shaft 102 has mounted thereon a gear 104, driven by a gear 105(FIG. 7), mounted on a shaft 106. The shaft 106 is also rotatablysupported by the guide plate 103 by means of a stud (not shown) similarto the stud '126. The shaft 106 is driven by a gear 107, mountedthereon, whichin turn is driven by the splined end of the motor shaft108 of a drive motor 109 (FIGS. 2 and 7), mounted to the guide plate103. a This arrangement provides operation of the belts 71 and 85 uponenergization of the motor 109. .Energization of the motor is normallycontrolled by the machine with which the coin delivery mechanism is.associated at the time a change delivery operation is required. Theoperation of the coindelivery mechanism may be continuous or of anintermittent nature, depending on the requirements of the installation.

As was previously described, the coin delivery mechanism 60 may be sopositioned that coins are delivered to the belt transport from thedispensing mechanism from either side of the delivery mechanism. Whenthis oc- 4 curs, blocking means are provided to block the coin slot thatis not being used, thereby preventing the coins from rolling through thebelt pocket 120 (FIG. 6) and out the coin slot in the other side. As maybe seen from FIGS. 2 and 8, a coin chute 111 is used to connect thebelts 71 and with the coin slot 67 in'the left side plate 62 (FIG. 1)due to the position of the belts 71 and 85 in relation to the left sideplate 62. The. chute 11 1 (FIG. 8) is connected to a similar coin slot67 (FIGS. 4 and 8) in the support plate 70. When the coins are to bedelivered from the left sideof the coin delivery mechanism, a slide 112(FIGS. 2, 3, and 4), slidably mounted on the right side plate 59 bymeans of screws 114, located within'a slot 113 in the slide 112, ismoved to block the coin slot 67 located in the right side plate 59. Whencoins are to be'delivered from the right side of the coin deliverymechanism, a blocking member (FIGS. 2, 3, and 8),, mounted on screws115, located in the support plate 70, is moved to cover the coin slot 67also located in the support plate 70. The T-shaped slot 68 (FIG. 1) inthe left side plate 62 provides access to both of the blocking members110 and 112, thereby allowing adjustments to be made at any time.

As previously disclosed, the coins engaged by the belts 71 and 85 aredropped into the coin receptacle 64 after the belts 71 and 85 divergewhen guided past the guide roller '82; When the coins reach the bottomof the receptacle 64, they automatically complete a circuit to a seriesof lamps 116 (FIGS. 2, 3, -and.4), mounted in.

a holder 119, attached to the top of the support plate 70 by screws 124(FIG. 3), thereby lighting the illuminated indicator 65. Located at thebottom of the coin receptacle 64 is a contact button 117. The contactcontact button 117 and the side of the coin receptacle 64.

While the embodiment of the invention shown and described herein isadmirably adapted to fulfill the objects primarily stated, it is to beunderstood that it is not intended to confine the invention to theparticular form or embodiment disclosed herein, for it is susceptible ofembodimentin various otherforms.

What is claimed is: a

1. In a portable coin delivery mechanism for use with a changedispenser, the combination including (a) a multi-sided enclosure having,in the lower portion of at least one of the sides of said enclosure, acoin-neoeiving slot;

(b) a coinmeceiving receptacle mounted on the top portion of saidenclosure;

(c) a belt transport system supported'within said enclosure, comprising(d) a pair of endless driven belts;

(2) a plurality of first guide rollers for guiding said belts along apredetermined path, said belts converging to assumea juxtapositionadjacent the coinreceiving slot, forming a V-shaped pocket to receivecoins fed through said coin-receiving slot, and diverging adjacent saidcoin-receiving receptacle, al-

receiving slot and operable to block said coin-receiving slot when thecoin-receiving slot is not in use. 2. The portable coin deliverymechanism of claim 1 in which one of said second guide rollers ismanually adjustable to vary the force exerted on said belts by saidsecond guide roller.

3. In a portable coin delivery mechanism for use with a changedispenser, the combination including (a) a multi-sided enclosure having,in the lower portion of at least one of the sides of said enclosure, acoin-receiving slot; (b) a coin-receiving receptacle mounted on the topportion of said enclosure; (c) a belt transport system supported withinsaid enclosure, comprising (d) a pair of endless driven belts;

(e) a plurality of first guide rollers for guiding said belts along apredetermined path, said belts converging to assume a juxtapositionadjacent the coinreceiving slot, forming a V-shaped pocket to receivecoins fed through said coin-receiving slot, and diverging adjacent saidcoin-receiving receptacle, a1- lowing coins supported between said beltsto drop into said receptacle;

(f) a plurality of pairs of second guide rollers mounted in anoverlapping position on opposite sides of a portion or" saidpredetermined path located between said coin-receiving slot and saidcoin-receiving reeeptacle, said second guide rollers engaging said beltsto resist divergence of said belts, thereby pre venting coins locatedtherebetween from slipping;

(g) a plurality of third guide rollers engaging each of said belts andresiliently mounted to tension each of said belts;

(I1) means for driving said belts;

(i) and slide means mounted adjacent said coin-receiving slot andoperable to block said coin-receiving slot when the coin-receiving slotis not in use.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 5/18 Brandt 13318/41 Cooper et a1 198165 9/57 Noyes 1334 LOUIS I. DEMBO, PrimaryExaminer.

EVERETT W. KIRBY, Examiner.

1. IN A PORTABLE COIN DELIVERY MECHANISM FOR USE WITH A CHANGEDISPENSER, THE COMBINATION INCLUDING (A) A MULTI-SIDED ENCLOSURE HAVING,IN THE LOWER PORTION OF AT LEAST ONE OF THE SIDES OF SAID ENCLOSURE, ACOIN-RECEIVING SLOT; (B) A COIN-RECEIVING RECEPTACLE MOUNTED ON THE TOPPORTION OF SAID ENCLOSURE; (C) A BELT TRANSPORT SYSTEM SUPPORTED WITHINSAID ENCLOSURE, COMPRISING (D) A PAIR OF ENDLESS DRIVEN BELTS; (E) APLURALITY OF FIRST GUIDE ROLLERS FOR GUIDING SAID BELTS ALONG APREDETERMINED PATH, SAID BELTS CONVERGING TO ASSUME A JUXTAPOSITIONADJACENT THE COINRECEIVING SLOT, FORMING A V-SHAPED POCKET TO RECEIVECOINS FED THROUGH SAID COIN-RECEIVING SLOT, AND DIVERGING ADJACENT SAIDCOIN-RECEIVING RECEPTACLE, ALLOWERING COINS SUPPORTED BETWEEN SAID BELTSTO DROP INTO SAID RECEPTACLE; (F) A PLURALITY OF PAIRS OF SECOND GUIDEROLLER MOUNTED IN AN OVERLAPPING POSITION ON OPPOSITE SIDES OF A PORTIONOF SAID PREDETERMINED PATH ENGAGING SAID BELTS TO RESIST DIVERGENCE OFSAID BELTS, THEREBY PREVENTING COINS LOCATED THEREBETWEEN FROM SLIPPING;(G) MEANS FOR DRIVING SAID BELTS; (H) AND SLIDE MEANS MOUNTED ADJACENTSAID COINRECEIVING SLOT AND OPERABLE TO BLOCK SAID COIN-RECEIVING SLOTWHEN THE COIN-RECEIVING SLOT IS NO IN USE.